Absolute Zero
by Catonis
Summary: Reno, a wolf living in the same city as Sonic and friends, has a normal life. When he bumps into a member of a local gang, he fears for his life. But something unexpected happens when he finds himself conrnered.
1. Chapter 1

Bam!  
I'm back with another Sonic fanfic.

Rated T for violence and swearing.

Reno laid back on his bed. He looked at his hand. For a flash he saw it covered with blood. He clenched it and closed his eyes. Reno was an icy blue wolf. His muzzle was white as snow. He had a similar icy blue tail. His left eye was forest green, and his right eye was milky white, white he usually hid by brushing his fur over it. He figured he should go visit Hornet. Reno got up, he wore baggy black pants, high-top sneakers, and no shirt more often then not. On his right hand he had a silver ring on each finger. On his left wrist he had a black leather bracelet. He walked through central square keeping an eye out for Hornet's apartment. Reno looked at the clock on a building. 3:28 p.m. "Damn." Reno said under his breath. He found his way to Hornet's and knocked. No one answered so he went in anyway. Hornet never minded when he did that.

Hornet's house was constantly a mess. Hornet was an artist and was always locked in his room, painting or drawing. Hornet never said much, in fact, nobody actually knew his name. But he always wore a yellow jacket and a black shirt so everybody called him Hornet. "Yo Hornet? Ya here?" Reno walked to Hornet's room and opened it. Hornet was working on a painting.

"Hey." Hornet said. If Hornet said anything it was only to acknowledge somebody's presence. Reno liked that. Hornet was a good listener. And if he ever had a real problem, Hornet always gave him advice.

"Whatcha painting?" Reno asked. Hornet grunted and pointed at a sketch sitting on his bed. It was a cloud formation. The way it was being painted made it look beautiful. Reno sighed and fell back on Hornet's bed. Hornet was a tall, skinny, grey, hawk. Hornet, as mentioned, usually wore a yellow jacket and a black shirt. He would often wear sunglasses because his eyes were always red and had bags under them from staying up all night. Hornet liked classical music. Which made sense because he was a very artistic person. Reno however, resented almost all music other then punk rock. Reno stood up. "You kinda busy?" He asked. Hornet grunted. By now Reno had grown to understand what Hornet's various sounds meant. "'Kay. See ya." Reno left.

_Great._ He thought._ There goes the one interesting thing that I had to do. _Reno bumped into some one, while lost in thought. Reno fell back a bit. "Hey pal watch where you're..." Reno froze. The person he had bumped into was an enormous bear. He was brown with a white stomach and wore a large grey sweatshirt and jeans. The look in his deep, black, eyes, was terrifying. The bear kept walking, it's hands in it's coat pocket. It still had it's eyes on him. Reno kept walking, his heart beating at twice it's normal speed. One of The Kings. The Kings were the biggest gang in the area. They'd have you killed if you parked in the wrong space. Reno was glad he was alive. Though he might not be for long.

He got home and called his girlfriend. "Mushi mushi." She answered. Sammy always answered like that. It was strange. The two were polar opposites. Reno, a dark, loner type personality. Sammy, a happy-go-lucky, preppy personality. Sammy was the only person that could make him laugh. Sammy was a pure black dog. Her ears were longer then normal and she had pierced both 3 times. She always wore skinny jeans, arm warmers, a red bandanna, and a pink jacket.

"Hey Sammy." Reno said.

"Reno, you okay? You sound more depressed then usual." Sammy said.

"Hah hah." Reno replied sarcastically. "Anyway, I bumped into one of The Kings a minute ago."

"Oh god! Are you okay? Did they beat you up?" Sammy asked, worried.

"I'm fine. I'm just gonna lay low for a while." Reno told her.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea huh?" Sammy said. "Want me to come over?"

"Sure. That'd be cool." Reno said. "It cool with your folks?"

"Oh please. You think they really care?" They didn't. Sammy's parents had never properly cared for her. Essentially, she lived by herself. That's why Reno had always been drawn to her. Behind her jokes, there was a lost soul.

"Alright, see you in a bit. Love you." Reno said.

"Love you too Wolfy. Buh-bye!" Reno smiled slightly and hung up. She sometimes called him Wolfy. On account that well, he was a wolf. He called her Sparkles sometimes, because once she had worn a really shiny bracelet, and the whole day it had shined in his face, and she also obsessed over the Twilight books whereas he couldn't stand them, and the "vampires" in Twilight sparkled in the sun for some reason. Reno was 18, Sammy was 17. They'd been dating for about a year and a half. To be honest, Reno really liked her. He had never really connected to anybody he had dated previously, but somehow, something inside him, and inside her, really clicked. They had been good friends in middle school, and When they were in high school, Sammy asked him out and he had said yes. Since then it had been great.

In thinking of the old days, Reno almost didn't hear Sammy knock. He answered and she hugged him. Reno pushed her off and she mock frowned. "C'mon Wolfy, all I want is a hug." Reno actually enjoyed it when she hugged him but his personality was too dark to tell her that. Honestly he didn't really choose to be the way he was. When he was in middle school he was always quiet and didn't have many friends. Thus people called him: emo, goth, etc. And he just sort of conformed to what society thought of him. Sammy waved her hand in front of his face. "You in there Wolfy?" She asked playfully. "You're always too quiet. You've got to brighten up a little."

"Well maybe you just have to get a little darker." Reno replied.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Wolfy." Reno leaned over to her and motioned to whisper something in her ear.

"Sparkles." Is all he said. Then he leaned back out and chuckled.

"When are you gonna stop calling me that?" Sammy said, fake pouting.

"When you stop calling me Wolfy. Now c'mon, let's go to the living room." Reno owned his own apartment. He had offered for Sammy to live with him but she said she didn't want to be a burden. Though she often spent days at a time with him. Reno turned the TV to the news and the two sat watching it. The Kings had tagged several more places and two teens were supposedly killed by them. Reno's heart pounded, and Sammy snuggled closer to him. Reno ran his hand through Sammy's fur. As a silent way of telling her it would be alright. It started to get late. Sammy yawned. "You gonna stay here?" Reno asked.

"Is that," She yawned again. "Okay with you?" Reno nodded and went to get some blankets for her. He set her up and kissed her goodnight before going to his own room. _The Kings don't scare me. Even if they jump me, I have a secret weapon. _Reno fell asleep on this thought.

Alright!  
Chapter one of Absolute Zero complete.  
R&R guys!


	2. Chapter 2 The Kings

Reno's in big trouble...

I'd almost rate this chapter an M.

__

Reno awoke late in the day. Saturday, 12:17 p.m. He put on a tank-top, his rings, and his bracelet. He went downstairs, and saw Sammy. She was laying on the couch, looking sleepy. "Hey Sammy." Reno said. She looked at him and smiled. Reno stood next to the couch. "You wanna go see Hornet?" He asked.

"That creepy painter?" Sammy asked. She thought Hornet was really weird.

"He's not that bad." Reno said. Sammy got up and put on her bandanna.

"Fine. Let's just go." She said, walking away.

"C'mon Sammy, he's really not such a weird guy once you get to know him." Reno said, following her.

"But you CAN'T get to know him. He never even speaks!" Sammy snapped, the two walking down the street.

"Well, there's more to a person's personality then speaking!" Reno replied. As they walked Reno got an increasingly bad feeling. Then, as they walked by an alleyway, it happened.

Reno and Sammy were both grabbed by the neck and pulled into the alleyway. There were 3 of them. The bear from the day before, a large yellow snake, and a light green chameleon. The bear held Reno in the air by his neck and the other 2 were holding Sammy down. "Mess with the Kings will you?" The snake said. Reno continued his desperate struggle against the bear.

"Look, do whatever you want to me, but let her go!" Reno pleaded. The snake smiled.

"Oh don't worry. I'll be gentle." He laughed. Sammy was crying, she was held down, her mouth covered. Reno was crying.

"Stop!" He yelled. The lizard held her up as the snake slowly felt her up and down. Reno struggled harder, only for the bear to squeeze him harder. Reno finally gave up. His held fell limply down, tears pouring out of his face. _Dammit. I can't do anything! Why... Why am I so weak... So worthless... _"Sammy... I'm so sorry..." The snake started undressing her. The bear pulled Reno's head up, as if to make him watch. The bear leaned into his ear.

"Look, I'm going to help you." The bear said. Reno was shocked. "I'm going to wait for just a little longer, then I'm going to let you go. Go apeshit on those guys. I'll help." Reno didn't know if he could trust the bear... But he had to. "3...2...1..." The bear released him and Reno jumped on the snake, he slammed him to the ground and stomped on his face, over, and over. The bear tackled the lizard and knocked him out instantly. When Reno was finished he looked at the snake. His face was a mangled mess of blood and bruises. Reno guessed he was dead. He ran over to Sammy, who was still crying.

He held her as tight as he could, both of them gushing out tears. The bear walked over. "I'll give you two a minute, then we have to get out of here." Reno nodded. Sammy covered herself with her coat, as she had been stripped down to her bra. The three walked down the street, the bear asked them to be casual, but it was hard to do after what happened.

"Who are you anyway?" Reno asked.

"We'll talk when we get to the station. But you can call me by my codename; Behemoth." The bear told him.

"Behemoth huh? Makes sense." Reno said under his breath. They got to the police station and walked in. Behemoth walked up to the counter and talked to an officer. Behemoth motioned to follow him. The three walked down the hall until they got to an office. Behemoth, Reno, and Sammy walked in and sat down.

"Chief." Behemoth said. "Two more Kings taken down. There was a snake and a lizard. They attempted to rape this girl and kill the boy." Behemoth pointed them out. The Chief was a dark purple bat, he wore a regular police uniform. "The snake was killed while the boy was in a fit of rage, but I managed to only knock out the lizard."

"Good work John. I'll send a few men with you to recover the bodies. I'll be right back. I want you to explain to these kids." The Chief said, and he walked away. Behemoth turned to Reno and Sammy.

"Alright. My name is John Korri, I am 21 years old. I work for the special forces team: IUE, Infiltration of Urban Environments. We work undercover in gangs and such, taking them out from the inside, giving info to the police, etcetera. I work undercover inside The Kings. We've been trying to take them down for years, but every other agent we've sent in was found out and killed. Since I go in alone, I have no backup, and I often have to deal with situations like the one you were in. Often I'm not able to help people. Each time I have to watch as somebody is raped, tortured, or killed, I have to stand by, not doing anything. Sometimes I'm practically forced to laugh. They're all sadists. Every person that dies, leaves a mark on my soul. Just be glad you're alive. You have no idea what they would've done to you. I on the other hand, know it first hand. My initiation was to torture and kill a 12 year-old boy." Behemoth looked ever sadder while saying this. Sammy and Reno were horrified. It was even worse then the stories.

The Chief walked back in. "Alright John, I've gathered your team, please leave as soon as possible." Behemoth nodded.

"Got it. Take care of these two would you?" Behemoth asked.

"Sure thing." The Chief replied. Behemoth left. Chief looked at the two. "Look. I can tell both of you are a bit traumatized from this so I'll let you have the rest of the day to yourselves. I'd like you to come back tomorrow if that's alright with you." Reno nodded. As did Sammy. "Alright. Feel free to leave." Reno and Sammy got up and walked out. The two walked back to Reno's house in silence.

"Sammy?" Reno asked.

"Hm?" Sammy asked weakly.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Reno put his arm around her. Sammy kept her arms crossed tightly around her chest. She silently cried. Reno kissed her on her cheek. He shushed her. They made it back to his house and he opened the door. The two walked in and went up to Reno's room. They laid down on his bed. The two held each other.

"Reno?" Sammy asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"We... Could've died today..." Sammy said, snuggling closer to him, curling into a ball.

"I know." Reno said. He rubbed her back and kissed her again. "Don't worry too much okay? We're gonna be fine." Reno told her.The Reno held her tightly.

"Reno?" Sammy asked again.

"Yeah?" Reno answered.

"I..." She stopped for a moment. "I... Lo," She was cut off. Reno kissed her passionately. The two held it for a moment before parting lips. Sammy sat, catching her breath. Reno looked right into her eyes.

"Sammy, I'm never going to let anyone hurt you again, I'd die before I'd let that happen." The two held each other. Sammy was crying tears of joy. The two fell asleep. Today would not be soon forgotten.

__

Well there's chapter two.  
You can probably tell why I marked this chapter as an "M" chapter.

R&R!

Or I may just have to tear out your intestines, chop your limbs off, and eat your brain, causing as much pain as possible.


	3. Chapter 3 Getting down to business

Chapter 3 time guys.

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Reno opened his eyes to see Sammy asleep next to him. He sighed and closed his eyes. He got up and left the house. It was only 7:00 so Sammy wouldn't be up for a while. He walked to his friend Jeremy's house. Jeremy had been his best friend since elementary school. He knocked on Jeremy's door. He heard loud music playing from inside. Reno opened it, knowing Jeremy probably wouldn't hear him. Jeremy listened to nothing but classic rock and most of the time he had it pumping at max volume through his speakers. Reno opened Jeremy's bedroom door and saw him on his computer. Jeremy was an avid gamer, who made money through game testing, and winning gaming tournaments. "Yo, Jeremy!" Reno yelled, trying to get through to him.

"Just a sec man, I'm about to own this guy." Jeremy moved his mouse and clicked. "BOOM HEADSHOT!!!" He yelled. Jeremy stood and cheered. "Last kill of the game too!" Reno rolled his eyes.

"Look dude, can I talk to you?" Reno asked.

"Sure man, what's up?" Jeremy responded, turning his music down.

"You got like, some pistol or something?" Reno asked.

"What kind? I've got semi auto, auto, single action, double action..." Jeremy's dad owned a gun shop. His motto was always: 'If you don't know what it is, shoot it.' That was part of the reason Jeremy got into first-person-shooter games. Jeremy kept his father's leftover guns in his basement.

"Whatever you think would be best for self-defense." Reno answered. He felt like he needed something to defend himself. Not just himself, Sammy. Jeremy stood and signaled for Reno to follow him. The two walked to his basement and Jeremy turned on the light. He opened one of the many boxes scattered around and began digging through it. He pulled out a revolver. Long, black, an eight inch barrel.

"This one's a nice SAA, you interested?" Reno held it for a moment, and his head began filling with unfamiliar flashbacks. He held his head and handed it back.

"Got somethin' else?" Reno asked. Jeremy went back to the box. He pulled out a stranger-looking gun.

"The only other one I would recommend really would be this. Mauser Broomhandle. It can be fired full-auto, or semi-auto. It's a little awkward, since you can't reload during the middle of a clip, but it's a good gun." Reno took it and looked at it. It felt very comfortable in his hand. He pointed it.

"How much?" Reno asked.

"Well I'd have to say a good 350." Jeremy told him shaking his head.

"350!?" Reno was surprised. Usually Jeremy's guns were very cheap. "Never mind then I guess." Reno held it out to him but Jeremy pushed it back.

"Normally I'd have to say that. But for you, 50 bucks." Jeremy grinned. Reno smiled a bit and handed him a 50 dollar bill.

"Thanks man." Reno said.

"No problem, I needed some money to get Call of Duty 4 anyway. By the way, you want a holster?"

"How much for that?" Reno asked.

"I'll just put it on your tab." Jeremy replied, winking. Reno chuckled.

"Thanks dude." Reno said. Jeremy handed him a holster.

"Again, no problem. Oh yeah, and you're gonna need bullets if you want to do more then intimidate." Jeremy laughed. He gave Reno a small bag. "It has about 5 clips in it. Have fun." Reno took it and began walking out. He put the pistol in it's holster and covered it with his tank-top. He checked a nearby clock. 8:30. He would head to the station with Sammy at about 10:00.

Reno opened the door. "Sammy?" He asked. "You up?" Sammy walked down the stairs.

"I've been up. Where were you?" She asked.

"Nowhere special." Reno replied.

"Hornet's?"

"Guess again."

"Jeremy's?"

"Bingo." Reno finished. Sammy smiled. "You wanna head out? We've got like an hour and a half before we gotta head back to the police station." Reno asked. Sammy nodded.

"Sure. I'll get my coat." Sammy walked back to his living room to get her coat. Reno sat on the stairs and sighed. Sammy came back. "Let's go!" She said in a happy voice. But Reno saw the signs. She was afraid. Sammy put on that fake smile for him. She tried to make him happy. But it only made him sadder. The fact that she tried to hide her emotions, it was almost sickening. Reno got up and the two walked out the door.

"You wanna get something to eat?" Reno asked.

"Yeah, I haven't eaten all day." Sammy told him. They walked to their favorite restaurant. The two walked in and the man at the front table greeted them.

"Hey how's it goin' Reno?" The man asked. His name was Jake, Reno's favorite waiter. Reno came in often so the two knew each other fairly well.

"Not bad my man." Reno replied. Jake led them to their seat. They sat across from each other and looked at the menus. It was silent for a moment, the restaurant mostly empty.

"Reno?" Sammy put down the menu and questioned.

"What's up?" Reno asked.

"What do think they want?"

"The police? They probably just want to ask a few questions, you know, see if we know anything." Reno told her.

"No, not them. The Kings." She said. "What could they want from this?" Reno sighed and put down his menu.

"Sammy, some people want to be in power. They want to feel like they're better." He said. "Anyway, let's not worry about this." He finished. Both looked back at their menus. They heard a piercing scream. Reno stood quickly and reached for his pistol. Most of the staff came rushing out and ran through the door. Reno signaled to Sammy and they ran as well. They got outside and looked back.

A huge beast broke through the window. It was at least 7 feet tall, it's skin a sickly green. It had one huge red eye on it's head. The monster had several spider-like arms coming out of it's back. It's left hand held a massive chainsaw, and had two arms on it's right side, both of which had gigantic red tentacles coming out of the palms. It had a long tail and goat-like legs. It was terrifying. But what caught Reno's eye was the large yellow crown tattoo on it's chest. Reno pulled out his pistol, aimed, and puled the trigger. A stream of bullets came out, shooting the monster through it's left shoulder. It screamed and dropped onto one knee.

"Let's go!" Reno yelled. He picked up Sammy and began running. He didn't know if the monster was following and he didn't care. He turned a corner and kept going, dodging past panicking people. He got to the police station and rushed in. He set down Sammy, breathing hard. Behemoth ran up to them.

"What happened?!" He demanded.

"Some monster came outta nowhere and attacked!" Reno told him. "We just barely got away! I don't know if it's coming or not!" Behemoth nodded and checked outside.

"If it is, it's not here yet. C'mon." Behemoth waved them to the back of the station. There was a door that said 'High Class Personnel only.' He led them in. It looked like a business meeting room. There were several people there. One stood.

"Behemoth, you found out what's goin' on?" The dark blue fox that stood asked. He wore a leather jacket, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, a white shirt, and revolvers were in holsters on both of his legs.

"Not entirely." Behemoth replied. He locked the door and motioned for the two to sit. They did so, as did Behemoth. "Alright. Let's get down to business."

Alright. Chapter 3 is over.

Jeremy was a homage to the Internet series: Pure Pwnage

which I love to death 3

The part where Jeremy offers Reno the SAA was a homage to my story Zack's Return.

Please R&R and I hope you enjoyed.


	4. Chapter 4 Meeting the Team

Chapter 4 is here!  
(I've been having internet issues)

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"Alright. I'll explain." Behemoth stood. "I work not only in IUE, but in a top-secret squadron. We handle all of the cases that are too big for the normal officers. We are given direct orders from the Secretary of Defense on each of our missions. We don't have an official name, but we call ourselves Red Wind. All of our members are highly-trained soldiers. Our cases are more often then not extremely dangerous. We've been across the world, on infiltration missions, assassination missions, and full-on battles. Let me introduce you." Behemoth explained all of this. He pointed to the man who had stood up before.

"Hey." He said. "Name's Tony Brook. Age: 23, codename: Cowboy." He spun one of his revolvers on his finger. "Specialty: close to mid range combat, preferred weapon: Single Action Army revolvers." Cowboy finished and sat back down with his feet kicked up on the table. Behemoth pointed at the next person down. It was a fiery red lion. He was polishing a sub-machine gun on the table. He stopped and stood.

"What's up?" The lion asked, knowing it was a rhetorical question. "I'm Shawn Blake. I'm 19 years of age, and my codename is Tommy. My specialty is mid range, and my favorite weapon is a Tommy Gun." The lion wore light blue jeans, and a black T-shirt. _ Only 19? _Reno thought as Behemoth waved towards the next person when Tommy sat.

"Nice to meet you." A green lizard stood. His coloring was strange, as though it had come naturally over time, rather then him being born that color. He had an eye patch over his left eye and wore tan cargo pants with a white tank-top and grey coat. "I'm Nick Sander. 28 years old, codename: Deadeye. My specialty is long range, and my weapon of choice is a DSR-1 sniper rifle." He sat again and leaned back in his chair.

"By the way, my specialty is close range combat and my preferred weapon is the AA12 automatic shotgun." Behemoth told them. "And finally we have," Behemoth said, pointing to the head of the table, who was on a laptop.

"Good day." The silver ferret said. "My name is Joshua Calio. I am currently 20 years old, and my codename is Book Worm. My specialty is giving tactical and operational support to the rest of the team, mapping things out, making the battle plans, and basically being the brains of the operation."

"It's true." Cowboy said, raising his hand. The team chuckled a bit. Reno listened, a bit uneasy.

"So," He said. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Reno, the question is: What doesn't this have to do with you?" Book Worm told him.

"What he means is," Behemoth interrupted. "You are a big part in this. We want you to join our team."

"I... I thought you said you were all highly trained?" Reno was nervous. What did have to do with any of this?

"Exactly. We'll train you." Cowboy told him.

"But why me?" Reno asked.

"Honestly, none of us know." Deadeye told him. "We were given direct orders from the Secretary of Defense to find you, and make you join our team. All he said was that something bad was going to happen and that you needed to be prepared." All of Red Wind stared at Reno. Reno looked back at Sammy, who stood by the door. She nodded. Reno sighed.

"Fine. What do I have to do?" Reno said. Book Worm typed something on his computer and turned it for them all to see. It showed the monster walking down a street, people running away. "What is this?" Reno asked.

"A security camera. This is happening as we speak." Tommy told him.

"Well then what are we doing here!?" Cowboy said.

"Exactly." Behemoth said. He walked over to a closet and pulled out his shotgun. "Me and Deadeye will go and distract him, lead him out of town. It'll give you guys time to ready Reno, and when you're ready, Book Worm will send us a signal." Cowboy looked a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be part of the action but agreed. Behemoth loaded several magazines into a bag and slung it, and his weapon, over his shoulder.

"So, I'm just supposed to stay here while you guys go out, and fight that... Thing!?" Reno asked. They brought him all the way here for that?

"Before you can do something like this, you need the proper training. If we were to send you out there now, you would be annihilated." Behemoth said bluntly. "You stand no chance at this point." Deadeye stood and looked at Book Worm.

"Don't worry Deadeye, I'll have it ready for you in a moment." Book Worm told him. Reno assumed this meant his weapon. Deadeye and Behemoth walked out and closed the door. Reno looked at Cowboy. Cowboy gave him a look that said: 'Don't worry about it.' Tommy slung his Thompson on his back and stood.

"C'mon Reno, we don't have all day." Cowboy stood as well.

"Yeah, we'll take you to the training facility." The two began to walk towards the other end of the room, where there was another door. Reno looked at Sammy, then at Book Worm. Book Worm smiled.

"She can come too." He said. Reno smiled a bit. He and Sammy walked to the door Cowboy and Tommy had gone out.

"You comin'?" Reno asked. Book Worm shook his head.

"I've got lots to do. But so do you, so get going." Reno nodded. He and Sammy walked out of the room, and it led directly into a large elevator. Tommy was in one of the corners and Cowboy leaned on the wall next to the buttons. He pushed one and the doors closed. As Reno got that familiar falling sensation that elevators gave him, he thought about what might happen.

When the elevator stopped, Reno found himself in a gigantic facility. There were ruined buildings, broken cars, crates, barrels, and all sorts of other things. It was dimly lit, making the room look rather dark and gloomy. "So, you got a gun or do you need to borrow one?" Cowboy asked first thing.

"It's cool." Reno replied, pulling out his pistol and loading a clip into it. Tommy laughed at the sight of it.

"Man, you're gonna need more then that." He said.

"Oh please. If Cowboy can fight with pistols, so can I." Reno told Tommy.

"Look dude, here's the difference between you two: Cowboy's a pro, you're an overconfident brat." Reno cracked his neck.

"We'll see won't we?" Sammy looked at him. Would they be using real bullets? Reno saw this look and asked. "Hey, we gonna be using real bullets?"

"Of course." Cowboy said, spinning one of his SAAs. "3..." Reno stopped for a moment. He wasn't expecting this.

"2..." Tommy said.

"1..." Cowboy said, drawing his other pistol, now holding one in both hands.

"GO!" Reno yelled, shooting a bullet at Tommy and diving behind a box. Tommy hit the floor just in time to avoid it. "Hey Sammy, you might wanna get out of the way." Reno told her. Sammy nodded and ran to a building nearby to watch.

Cowboy cocked both of his guns. He ran, jumped the box, and shot both revolvers at Reno. Reno rolled out of the way and shot several bullets at Cowboy. Cowboy moved at a superhuman speed and dodged the bullets. Reno was awestruck. He turned his attention however, to Tommy, who was aiming right for him. Reno shot at Tommy, after which he got up and ran behind a blown up van. Tommy shot into the air, which frightened Reno for a moment, giving Cowboy enough time to run right up to him. Reno pulled the trigger but nothing happened. Cowboy put his guns barrel right to Reno's head. "You gotta know how many bullets you got man." Cowboy pulled the trigger but no bullet came out. Cowboy emptied all of the chambers, but only one bullet fell out of each pistol. He only put in one bullet.

Cowboy pulled Reno to his feet and led him out from behind his cover. Tommy laughed at the sight. Reno sighed. "Hey Cowboy?" Reno asked.

"What's up?" Cowboy responded. Sammy came out and stood by Reno.

"How'd you do that?" Cowboy looked at him and chuckled.

"Practice friend." Cowboy told him. "A lot of practice."

"C'mon, let's keep goin'." Tommy said. Reno nodded and reloaded his gun.

"Let's see if you can deal with both my guns being fully loaded." Cowboy said, pushing each bullet in one by one.

"I doubt he can." Tommy replied. Reno sighed. "You want a bigger gun?" Tommy asked him.

"That'd be nice." Tommy laughed and waved him over to a small shed in the corner of the room, not far from where he'd been hiding. He opened it up, revealing rows of guns and accessories. Tommy looked it over and pulled one off the wall. He grabbed several corresponding clips and held the gun. He looked it over and checked the sights. Tommy smiled and gave it, and the clips, to Reno.

"M4A1 Carbine. Good luck." He said. "You'll need it." Reno took the gun and began walking back to Cowboy.

"Ready to go?" Cowboy asked. Reno nodded. "Alright... GO!" Cowboy started faster then Reno expected and threw him off guard. He sprinted to Reno and pulled back his fist. It slammed into the side of Reno's head, sending him flying. Reno crashed into a building and dropped to the ground. Tommy walked up slowly. Reno was on his hands and knees, breathing hard. Reno sat up and shot at Tommy. He dodged and shot back. Reno's left cheek was grazed by a bullet as he tried to move. It began bleeding slightly, but Reno kept moving. In his mind he ran over his plan. Find cover, shoot.

Cowboy ran after him. He pulled out one pistol, stopped, and shot. Reno heard the shot and hit the floor, almost getting shot. Cowboy pulled out his other and shot. Reno rolled to the side, got up, and ran again. He knew he couldn't beat the two in a fair fight. He ran up some stairs he found to the rooftop of a building. He lied down, and aimed his gun. He spotted Cowboy walking his way. He was about to shoot, but Tommy came out of nowhere, appearing next to Cowboy and shooting at him. Reno got up, but by the time he got to the stairs, the duo was there. Reno backed up until he got to the ledge. Both Cowboy and Tommy were staring him down. Reno got a cocky smile and jumped. He rolled when he hit the ground but it still hurt. Cowboy and Tommy were shocked for a moment, then chased after him.

Reno moved, looking behind him every so often. Cowboy stopped shortly after he got down the stairs and aimed. The sights on the SAA were very crude but he was known for being a sharpshooter if need be. He fired. Reno heard the shot and looked back. He could practically see the bullet heading towards him. He held his arms in front of his face. He waited. Nothing happened. He opened his eyes. Reno saw a large wall of ice in front of him. He stared in awe. Sammy came up next to him. Cowboy and Tommy were soon there.

"How did..." Tommy began.

"So that's what he was talking about." Cowboy said calmly. "Alright then. Come with us." He said, and began walking away once more. Tommy followed still looking back once or twice. Reno looked at Sammy. Sammy's eyes showed that she was scared and confused. Reno held her for a moment and then began catching up with Cowboy and Tommy.

Reno slung his M4 over his back using it's sling. He kept up the pace with Sammy right next to him. Cowboy pulled out a cell phone. He dialed a number with one hand, the other in his pocket. "Yeah Book Worm. We'll ready up and meet up with them in just a minute. Alright. See ya in a sec." Cowboy hung up and put it back in his pocket. He stopped and turned to them. "Okay. We're gonna go meet with Behemoth and Deadeye as soon as we're ready. Book Worm tells me they're having some difficulty." Cowboy explained to them.

"Well let's go!" Tommy exclaimed. "We're ready!"

"Hold on. We're going to split up."

"What?! Why?!" Tommy asked.

"We need to get Sammy out of here." Reno said. "That's what you mean right?"

"Exactly." Cowboy agreed. Sammy shook her head.

"I'm going too." Tommy turned to her.

"Look, it's too dangerous to-" Tommy was cut off by a loud smashing sound. A voice came out of what sounded like an intercom system.

"All of you, get out now!!!" They heard Book Worm yell. "It's-" His voice turned to static. Cowboy cringed. He signaled to follow him and ran towards the opposite end of the room. Everyone followed. Cowboy stopped in front of the wall and began feeling around. He pushed one brick inwards and the wall opened up, leading to a dark tunnel.

"C'mon guys." Cowboy said. He began running down the tunnel. _I have a bad feeling about this... _Reno thought. When they all got to the end of the tunnel, they saw the city in ruins. "Damn. We're too late." Cowboy swore to himself. He then put a finger over one ear. "Behemoth, Deadeye, come in. Are you guys still alive?"

"Fine. But we're a little bruised." Reno thought he heard Behemoth say.

"Good. I can't say the same for Book Worm though. I can't confirm that he's dead but at the least he'll be pretty beat up. We'll meet in town square alright?"

"Rodger." Behemoth said.

"Alright. Cowboy out." Cowboy finished and put his hand down. "Let's get moving. We don't have any time to lose." The team began walking toward town square. Reno's head was spinning. The whole world seemed to be falling apart.

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This'll probably take f***ing forever to go up but I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter.


	5. Chapter 5 The Battle Begins

Chapter 5.  
This'll probably go up at the same time as chapter 4 so have fun.

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The group got to town square, which was a mere shadow of what it used to be. The fountain in the middle of it was split almost in half, water spurting in all directions. Several nearby cars were either flipped or crushed entirely. Some nearby buildings had smashed windows. Several trees were fallen. "What happened?" Reno asked.

"We'll know as soon as Behemoth and Deadeye get here." Cowboy responded. Reno nodded and looked to his left. He saw both Behemoth and Deadeye running towards them. Behemoth was holding his right shoulder, which was obviously injured and had several cuts and bruises. Deadeye was hurt slightly less but still had noticeable injuries. Reno alerted them and everyone rushed to them.

"You alright?" Tommy asked the two. Behemoth nodded.

"Nothing time won't heal." He replied. "But look, that monster was practically invincible. It just kept getting back up y'know? We practically had to rip it limb from limb. If there's more, we're in big trouble." Behemoth told them. Cowboy gritted his teeth.

"Look's like we're in big trouble." His fists were clenched tight.

"So, you make any breakthroughs with Reno?" Behemoth said looking at Reno.

"Yeah actually. Turns out he's-" Before Cowboy could finish an arrow came flying at him from above. With incredible speed, he took out his revolver and shot the arrow, making it fall to the ground. "Enough with the god damn interruptions!" Cowboy yelled. They heard a devilish laugh.

"Couldn't resist." A voice said. A man jumped down from a large tree, one that hadn't been knocked over. It was a tiger, almost his entire body covered by an odd camouflage that seemed to very slowly change depending on where he was. His exposed fur was a burnt orange and his eyes were yellow. In his right hand he held a large bow gun, and on his back, a quiver of crossbow bolts. He had a sinister grin on his face. "Keith, Lord of Fear, at your service good sirs." He said with a bow. Cowboy didn't look amused.

"I don't really care who you are. What connection do you have with that monster and The Kings?" Cowboy said, pointing his pistol at the tiger. He merely grinned.

After a moment Cowboy cocked it, and as he did so, someone in a black cloak dropped from above him. The assailant grabbed his hand and pushed on a vein, causing him a great deal of pain and making him drop his gun. They threw Cowboy over their shoulder and he hit the ground. Behemoth started to aim his shotgun but, not being fast enough, the cloaked person threw a knife at him, forcing him to move out of the way. Reno started to notice a few things. The person had a womanly figure: wide hips, small limbs, and breasts. She had black gloves, a metallic bird-like mask with red eyes, what showed of her legs had skin tight black pants that looked leathery, and black leather boots. Around her waist was a belt with knives on it, and a Scorpion sub-machine gun.

Reno drew his pistol and fired. She dodged and cartwheeled until she got next to Keith. "Nicely done Jane." Keith said. Jane nodded. Behemoth once again tried to fire but again he was thwarted. A woman came up from behind him and drop kicked him in the back. Behemoth fell and the woman back flipped, landing on her feet. She had a sawed-off, double-barreled shogun strung to her right leg. She had violet fur, and she looked like a badger. For a woman she had large muscles. She wore white pants, a blue shirt, and brown shoes. She had a bullet-proof vest on as well. The woman met up with her two fellow assassins. "Roxanne, nice to see you." Keith greeted her. Roxanne rolled her eyes. Behemoth and Deadeye stood by the rest of the group. Cowboy picked up his gun.

Cowboy, without warning, sped over to the enemies, faster then the average eye could see. But a loud gun shot discouraged him. He veered to the right, avoiding both the gunshot and the enemies. After he got a short distance away he turned back towards them, the sudden stop causing him to slide. Someone new had joined their ranks. A boy, who couldn't have been older then 13, stood next to them. He wore a black skin-tight suit, black gloves and shoes, a small pair of sunglasses which blocked out his eyes, and held a magnum in his hand. The magnum looked to be a .357 if Reno's memories of Jeremy's collection served. The boy had dark yellow fur, and looked to be a cat of some kind. Reno hadn't seen him move. He was easily as fast as Cowboy. "Just in time Aaron." Keith acknowledged the boy. The boy shrugged. Cowboy rushed back to the group.

"Anyone else notice something a little creepy?" Cowboy asked as soon as he got back. Behemoth nodded.

"There seems to be a mirror of each of us. Roxanne is me, Keith is Deadeye, Jane is Tommy, Aaron is Cowboy, all that's missing is one of..." Tommy pulled up his gun and began firing. A man with a shield came out of nowhere. He blocked the shots. Tommy stopped. When the man stood, he was a fiery red eagle. "I spoke too soon." Behemoth finished. The eagle had shin armor, no shoes, large wings, the shield in his left hand, and a spear in his right. He had gladiator-like armor on his chest, black pants not unlike Aaron's suit in style and texture,and large silver bracers.

"Any injuries Keith?" The eagle asked. He looked to be about Reno's age, maybe a year older.

"Not unless you count them." Keith replied shaking his head.

"Good." The eagle said. He turned his head to Reno's group. "I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Rane, God of Hell and Fire." He put his hand towards Aaron. "This is Aaron, Son of Pain." Rane motioned towards Jane. "And this is Jane, Aaron's sister and Daughter of Sadness." He then pointed at Roxanne with his hand. "Roxanne, Queen of Anger." And at last he looked towards Keith. "And last but not least, my second in command, Keith, the Lord of Fear." Keith bowed. "I know who he is," Rane looked at Reno. "But who might the rest of you be?"

"Cowboy, Ruler of Wind." Cowboy said. Behemoth stepped up next to him.

"Behemoth, Titan of Earth." Deadeye put his sniper on his back and stepped up as well.

"Deadeye, Sharpshooter of Lightning." Tommy came up and spit on the ground next to him.

"Tommy, Mariner of Water." Rane looked amused.

"And him," Rane said. "Reno King of Ice and Heaven, no?" Reno froze.

"How... How do you know who I am?" Reno asked. Rane laughed, his voice booming.

"We have much to discuss." Rane snapped his fingers. His team spread out slightly, all of them drawing their weapons. Reno's side readied themselves.

Aaron quickly ran up to Cowboy hitting him in the stomach with his palm, the speed giving the attack much more power then usual and sending Cowboy flying back. Distracted, the team began to turn to Cowboy, their movements in slow motion compared to Aaron's move. Jane sprinted towards Tommy, roundhouse kicking him in his head, and causing him to soar to the right of where he was. Roxanne shot at the team's feet with her shotgun, making them spread out to avoid the blast. She shot once again, this time, the shot was aimed at Behemoth. Behemoth hit the ground, was grazed by a few of the shots, got up and began running. Roxanne ran after him. Keith fired an arrow at Deadeye, but, seeing it coming, he rolled to the side and pulled out his gun. He fired at Keith, who dodged by jumping extremely high into a tree and leaping away. Jumping similarly high, Deadeye followed.

The only ones left were Reno, Rane, and Sammy. Reno turned to Sammy, kissed her forehead, and whispered in her ear: "You have to go." Sammy nodded and ran. Reno turned back to Rane. Reno removed his pistol holster and pistol, his bag of clips, and his M4. He dropped them all on the ground. Rane raised an eyebrow. Reno noticed and said, "I didn't think it'd be fair." And grinned. Rane grinned as well. Reno sighed and stretched himself out. "Geez, do all these people have crazy abilities?" Reno asked.

"When you are born as such, these things happen." Rane said dropping his spear and shield. The two stood in ready positions, staring at one another, waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Rane started the fight by throwing a fireball at Reno. Not expecting this approach, Reno put his arms in front of him, as he had done during training, hoping it would have a similar effect. It did. A small wall of ice came out of the ground, blocking the fireball, though the fireball made it noticeably thinner. Using this, Rane flew at a high speed, punching through the ice wall and hitting Reno. Reno hit the ground, stunned. _He has an advantage. _Reno realized grimly. Rane could fly, he could not. He hoped to god that Rane would not use this advantage though Reno knew he would.

Reno got up, Rane standing a few feet in front of him. Reno charged at him and pulled his arm back to punch. Rane grabbed Reno's arm and threw him onto the ground. Reno knew that he would have to do better then that. Rane released his arm but tried to stomp on Reno's head. Reno managed to roll out of the way. He stood. Once again charging, he tried to be more strategical. Rane threw a fast punch, Reno sidestepped, and swept Rane's legs. Rane slipped but caught himself by flapping his wings hard. He hung suspended for a moment, and when Reno tried to punch again, Rane kicked him with both feet. Reno was shoved backwards, and Rane regained his balance. The two faced each other once again. Rane threw several fireballs, and Reno dodged, nearly burning his shoulder. Reno, by merely thinking it, raised a sharp pillar of ice from under Rane who dodged it by mere inches. Reno felt slightly dizzy and realized how much energy such a thing could take from him. He decided to save his ability for emergencies.

"Enough of this game." Rane said. He picked up his spear and shield once again. He looked at his shield. Reno could tell he was concentrating very hard. Reno's eyes opened wide. The shield slowly morphed into a hand-and-a-half sword, a powerful sword commonly used in midevil times. He threw the sword and it landed at Reno's feet. Reno picked it up. It was just the right weight for him to swing it comfortably. He held it tightly and looked at Rane. Rane stared back holding his spear in one hand. Reno gritted his teeth. _Fire vs Ice, Heaven vs Hell. Heh. Cliché much? _

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W00t!!1!!1!

Chapter 5 is over.  
Chapter 6 will come soon.

Some of the characters on Rane's team were homages, can you spot them?


End file.
